Kami, a leading classroom engagement and teacher productivity content provider to the US and global K12 market, with over 40 million teachers & students on the platform across over 2,000 US districts and 180 countries around the world, today announced a significant strategic investment from BV Investment Partners. The investment values Kami at more than $175M USD.
The strategic growth investment from BV will accelerate Kami’s existing ambitions and help the platform reach every classroom in the world, deepening its US centric focus and expanding globally, signaling a new chapter and phase for Kami.
BV Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on software, tech-enabled business services, and IT services sectors. BV brings strategic expertise, industry knowledge and valuable networks to the table, and has supported the growth of many other edtech and founder-led businesses. BV’s expertise will also broaden Kami’s scope to increase the breadth of the Company’s impact and value to customers, supporting the Company’s vision of becoming a leading classroom engagement software addressing key industry pain points and empowering teachers and students to transform the learning environment in the tech enabled K12 classroom.
Kami will continue to operate from Auckland, New Zealand and open a Boston office, with all four founders remaining in the business.
“We’ve always been ambitious at Kami, which is why we have over 40 million teachers and students signed up, and now is the time to own the global edtech space, deepening and expanding our presence from our US focus today. BV is the right strategic partner to achieve our goals and continue our mission to scale to the next level,” said Hengjie Wang, co-founder and CEO of Kami.
“At its core, Kami is a founder-led business that has yielded growth by solving real problems faced by teachers and their students. While accelerating our growth with the support of BV, we remain committed to our core mission and values. Our global team including the founders, our operations and day-to-day business functions will continue unchanged.”
Jason Kustka, Managing Director of BV, commented, “We have invested in and helped to scale a number of exciting education-focused businesses that deliver affordable and effective solutions that accelerate learning. Kami provides students and teachers with the tools they need to enhance modern learning and create more equitable quality education. Kami’s mission, rooted in transforming the learning environment in the tech-enabled K12 classroom creates a unique position to strengthen its already dominant position as a leading classroom engagement solution of choice. We look forward to partnering with the talented Kami team to advance their mission.”
BV’s investment also equips Kami with a US-based global growth partner. BV’s tailored expertise will help Kami accelerate its US success and replicate that on a global scale.
About Kami
Kami was developed in Aotearoa, New Zealand by four university friends who wanted to make a difference. Eleven years later, the platform has grown into a team of over 100 Kamileons with a shared goal of fostering a positive learning journey for everyone. Kami’s global community of 40+ million users loves Kami because it simplifies workflows, increases student engagement, reduces printing costs, and saves trees too! Kami levels the playing field so that all students – no matter their age, grade, or ability – can love learning. See more about Kami here.
About BV Investment Partners
BV Investment Partners is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested approximately $5.5 billion, actively targeting investments in the tech-enabled business services, software, and IT services industries. The firm is investing out of its 11th private equity fund, which closed in September 2023 with $1.75 billion in capital commitments. BV was ranked in Inc. magazine’s 2023 list of Founder-Friendly Investors. For more information, visit www.bvlp.com.
